[Q 188] How long can Qaumh and Jalsah be extended in prayer?

Question

How long can one lengthen the Jalsah and Qaumah, e.g., to ponder and do fikr?

Likewise how long can one pause between each phrase of al Fatiha to ponder over its meaning and gain khushoo in Salah?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

If the person remains silent for the quantity of saying SubhanAllah three times in any part of the prayer (qauma, jalsa, qiraat etc) ,and it is done intentionally without any valid excuse, then it is not permissible and the prayer will be Makrooh e tehrimi and Wajib to repeat.

And if such silence was due to the reason for forgetting the next verse then because of such a long gap, Sajdah Sahu will be obligatory in the last Qada.

Answered by: Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated by: Saqib Madani